Monday, January 28, 2013

In my mind, this half marathon was my official comeback race. I’d had this race in mind since way before Penelope was born. She is 6 months old now and I was finally ready to race a longer distance and give it my all.

I had high hopes for a good finish time based on my recent 10k PR. That time (46:16) predicted a half marathon finish time of 1:43:09- and my PR from way back in 2007 is 1:43:40. I ran this race back in 2009 and finished in 1:49:02. One last bit of background- I haven’t actually ran a half marathon at all since June of 2010!

With the baby and my new stay-at-home-mom lifestyle and schedule, training was pretty moderate. I did get several long runs in, including 2 12 milers. I ran about 20-25 miles per week the last few weeks, except the one week that I was super sick. I also raced that 10k which went surprisingly well.

I planned to stick with my strategy of running without my watch, so I would have no idea of my pace or time until I crossed the finish line. Big gamble, but it had worked before and was worth a try. I know it’s not news to anyone, but I really discovered just HOW mental racing is. I get really psyched out when I see my pace (either disappointed if it’s slow, or scared if it’s fast) and that never has positive results. I need to stay OUT of my head as much as possible. So I didn’t have a specific time goal for the race, just to give it my all. I knew in my heart I could have a really good day.

The race started at 10:00 which is awesome! It was cool (38 at the start) and cloudy, and stayed dry until the last couple miles. Perfect racing weather. The course is pancake flat and has a super fast field. Perfect conditions all around. I carried a single Power Gel and no water. I did wear my Garmin to record my splits but turned it to the watch function and didn’t even look at that.

Besides running “by feel,” my only means of guessing my pace was judging the runners around me. And you all know that is a dangerous game! I started pretty close to the front and tried to hang on to some girls that looked kinda fast. They dropped me. Over the first few miles I got passed a LOT. I figured I started way too fast, but I was worried when “not-fast” looking people whizzed by me. Old guys, Clydesdales, older gals… I was convinced I was moving at a snail’s pace. I knew I was working hard though, and knew I couldn’t pick up the pace yet so I just hung in there.

Eventually, I stopped getting passed so much. I tried to hang on to a few people around me, and that worked pretty well. I saw Zach and Penny several times because of the out-and-backs on the course. He gave me a thumbs up so I took that to mean I was doing good, although I don’t know if he even was watching my time. I had a good playlist going (first time ever listening to music in half) and that was motivating.

Finally, around the 11 mile mark, I decided to give it everything I had. I picked a couple of ladies ahead of me and passed them. In the last mile, a woman caught and passed me and we raced it out to the finish. She got away from me but it was very motivating to chase her! I was so tired, and was leaving it all out there. I was running through the park and saw the finish line… seeing the digital clock was the first indication I had of my pace for the entire race and I was shocked.

Official finish time: 1:42:20 (7:49 pace)

6/38 30-34 AG 31/208 Females 115/425 OA

When I saw the finish clock I yelled out and pumped my arms. I believe I said “No fucking way!!!” and had a Huuuuuge smile on my face. Zach was right there and was smiling too, watching my reaction.

That’s a 1 minute 20 second PR. So freaking cool. It was the greatest feeling. That moment of joy makes it all worth it! All the suffering and the bad runs and the agonizing over training… SO worth it. I’ve only ever had that feeling a handful of times in the 8 ish years I’ve been running and it’s just the greatest. Don’t get me wrong, I love the little things: a beautiful trail or a fun run with friends, but these HOLY SHIT YAYYYY moments just blow that all out of the water.

I feel like at the top of my game right now. I honestly thought all my PR races were behind me, and I’m loving this. I know I won’t stay motivated to push myself like this for long… I’ve been through this before and it’s not sustainable. Chasing the PRs, the BQ, etc… It gets old fast. I am letting myself go with it for now though. When this phase is over I’m sure I’ll know.

I don’t know why I suddenly got faster- I haven’t been training that much or doing any speedwork. It’s got to have something to do with having a baby, but not sure I really see a connection. Something about pain tolerance? Not caring as much? It’s weird and I’m not worrying about it.

Like I said- I’m going with it. I am going to try to work in some speed work and see what else I can do. I think I’ll go back and try for a faster 5k next! Part of me wants to go whole hog and try to BQ, but I don’t know if I can swing it. That’s a lot of work for this busy mom. Plus, it’s still a long shot. Another factor is that Zach has some big races this summer and we are kind of alternating “key training” phases and it’ll be his turn soon… so we’ll see. I’ll let you all know, of course!

Here are my splits: Kind of an afterthought since I didn’t even see them until I got home and downloaded them, but cool to see. I like racing “without a watch” but love looking at my splits after! I did start off fast like I thought, slowed a bit in the second half but had a fast finish.

Sunday, January 06, 2013

This weekend I started off the new year with a bang- a fun race with good friends! Amy and Sarah are signed up for the ORRC (Oregon Road Runners Club) 10k Race Series and I decided to join them for this first event. I’m doing the Vancouver Lake Half Marathon in a couple weeks and figured this would be a great tune-up race, and would give me an idea of what to shoot for in the half.

The race was out in Forest Grove, about 45 minutes from home. I did the whole mom routine (feeding the baby before the start, changing her diaper, etc) then Zach got her loaded up in the Ergo carrier. I registered, found my friends, used the bathroom, and we waited a few minutes inside the warm school. Awesome. It was about 36 degrees outside but thankfully not raining.

I stuck with my strategy from my previoustwo races of not looking at my watch the whole race, and just running by feel. I was feeling relaxed about the race with no pressure, nothing to prove, nothing to lose. I hoped to run sub 8:00 miles, coming in under 49 minutes. My PR was set back in 2009 at 47:04, so I hoped to come within a minute or two of that.

Since I didn’t have my Garmin as a guide (I was wearing it to capture my splits, just didn’t look at it), I ran purely by feel. And “by feel",” I mean “trying to keep up with the girls around me.” That went ok… I kept the group of girls in my sights but never caught up to them. I felt good but was definitely working hard. I checked in with myself several times and asked “could I be running faster?” Usually the answer was no, but later in the race I turned my music up a little and tried to find a little more speed before the finish.

The course was super flat the first couple of miles through town, and then we wandered through the scenic countryside for the latter half. There were three hills in the race, all in the second half. They seemed huge at the time but my Garmin data denies that. Amy and Sarah will agree though, they were big. Definitely slowed the pace, but I just kept my head down and feet moving. The miles were marked, but otherwise I wouldn’t have known we were almost back to the school since it sits on the edge of town. So suddenly there was one last big hill, then Zach holding Penny, then the finish line! I looked at my watch in that final stretch and was shocked to see my time! I sprinted in as fast as I could and finished with a BIG PR and an even bigger smile on my face.

Official Results:

46:16 (7:28 average pace)

5/41 30-34 AG (they gave me the 4th place ribbon after the event, oops)

Yay!! I was super surprised and excited. I haven’t set a new PR in so long… before the 2009 10k PR, all my other distance PRs are from 2006-2007. Granted, the past few years have been spent pursuing other goals (triathlon, trail running, babymaking) but still. So cool!!

I’m loving the shorter, faster stuff right now. My long runs have been really good though too (10-12 milers at 9:00 ish pace) so I’m optimistic about the half coming up. I am going into it with a relaxed attitude, open mind, and no watch! Will report back, of course!

Pictures:

And a few bonus pictures of my sweet Penelope, who will be 6 months old in a couple weeks. Sitting up, giggling, rolling over, grabbing her toes, and bringing joy to everyone around her.